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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. B. HILL.

ICE MAKING, COOLING, AND REPRIGERA-TING APPARATUS. I No. 464,434.Patented Dec. 1, 1891. w

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(No Model.) 1 2 SheetsSheet 2.

I F. B. HILL. ICE MAKING, COOLING; AND REFRIGERATING APPARATUS. No.464,434! Patented Dec. 1, 1891.

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I II a vlnlllllilllllllllillll ms PETER! co mare-1.11140, msnmmo o cUNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE,

FREDERICK BARKER IIILL, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHSTO JAMES SINCLAIR, OF SAME PLACE.

ICE-MAKING, COOLING,AND REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 464,434, dated December1, 1891.

Application filed December 27, 1888. Serial No. 294,749. (No model.)Patented in England December 6, 1886 No. 15,914.

To all wiwm i1? y 607166771: method or process of refrigeration wherebyI Be it known that I, FREDERICK BARKER am enabled to maintain a uniformlow teml-lILL,en'gineer, asubjectof the Queen of Great perature for avery long period and to store Britain, and a resident of London,England, cold in alarge body of non-congealable liquid 55 5 haveinvented certain new and useful Iinwhich is inclosed in a tank or vesseland in provements in Ice-Making, Cooling, and Rewhich the refrigeratingtubes or chambers are frigerating Apparatus, (for which I haveobimmersed near the surface of the liquid, so tained a patent in GreatBritain, No. 15,914, that the liquid cooled thereby will descend bearingdate December 6, 1886,) of which the and displace the liquid at thebottom of the 60 IO following is a specification, reference being tankor vessel and a circulation of the said had to the accompanyingdrawings. liquid will take place-within the said tank or My inventionrelates to apparatus for the vessel, and the cooling of the body ofliquid production of cold for cooling rooms and for will be Veryexpeditiously effected. ice-making. My improved refrigerating processconsists 65 I 5 My said invention relates more particularly in firstevaporating practically the whole of to that kind or class ofrefrigerating or icethe ammonia from asolution thereof conmakingapparatus wherein the cold is protained in a boiler or still, liquefyingthe said duced by first distilling and then expanding ammonia by passingit through a condenser or re-evaporating and absorbing ammonia or andcollecting the liquefied ammonia in the7o other fiuid of likeproperties. refrigerating tubes or chambers, and after the Heretofore inmany forms of refrigerating flow of the liquid ammonia to the said tubesor ice-making machines the liquefied ammoor chambers has ceased coolingthe impovernia has been allowed to expand into the reished solution inthe boiler or still and confrigerator, and in apparatus heretoforecontrolling as required the return of the'am 75 t d f r the purpose thepipes are so arlnoniacal gas thereto from the said tubes ranged that theammonia or a portion thereof or chambersthat is to say, instead ofallowis liable to pass through the refrigerator in a ing the whole ofthe ammonia in the said liquid state and to return to the ammonia tubesor chambers to evaporate and return to boiler or absorber without havingperformed the boiler or still immediately the latter is 80 its Workcooled, the ammonia is retained in the refrig- In somemethods ofrefrigeration heretofore crating tubes or chambers, and is eny-aiadopted the ammonia evaporated from a lowed to evaporate and returnto the boiler'or strong olution thereof is collected and liquestill fromtime to time in greater or less quanfied in a receiver orrefrigerating-chamber, tity, so as to reduce the temperature, as may 8 35 from which, when the impoverished solution be required. The productionof cold can is cooled, the ammoniacal gas returns to the therefore bedeferred for any desired length said solution; but in all such methodsthe reof time after the cooling of the impoverished turn of theammoniacal gas is uncontrolled, solution. I prefer to so arrange thetank or a and consequently when the impoverished sovessel inclosing thenon-congealable liquid 0 4o lution is cooled the whole of the ammoniathat the bottom thereof will form the ceiling expands and returns to thesaid solution, so of the room or chamber to be cooled. There that agreat degree of cold is produced in a will thus be automaticallymaintained in the short space of time, and the temperature will saidroom or chamber a constant circulation rise very considerably during theprocess of of the air as its heat is abstracted by the tank 5 5 againheating the ammonia solution, collector reservoir of brine falling tothe bottom of ing the liquid ammonia in the refrigeratingthe saidchamber and displacing the air of chamber, and cooling the impoverishedsoluhigher temperature, which in turn comes into tion. It is obvious,therefore, that with such contact with the under surface of the tank.methods a uniform low temperature cannot The air in the chamber istherefore dried and I00 be maintained kept in a very favorable conditionfor pur- Now my invention comprises an improved poses for which it isrequired. By my imthe ammonia-boiler.

provements I am enabled to store up in the said brine a great amount ofcold sufficient to maintain the desired low temperature in thecooling-chamber for some days, whether the said chamber be kept closedor be opened occasionally, any additional heat that may be imparted tothe chamber while the door is open being very soon absorbed by the coldin the storage-tank when the door is again closed. Moreover, byredistilling the anhydrous ammonia after the brine has been cooledthereby and allowing it to lie in the refrigerating pipes or chambersuntil the temperature shows signs of rising and then allowing anyrequired quantity of it to expand or re-evaporate from time to time Ican maintain the desired degree of cold in the chamber for many dayswithout again applying heat to This is important, as it allows time forthe boiler to lose its heat by radiation, and thus saves thecooling-Water that would otherwise be required.

Another part of my said invention consists in providing means wherebyany impoverished ammonia solution which cannot be removed from therefrigerator pipes or chambers by evaporation may be allowed to returnby gravity to the ammonia-boiler.

In the accompanying drawingsI have shown how my said invention may beconveniently and advantageously carried into practice.

Figure l is a sectional side elevation showing one form of my improvedapparatus in whichthe' refrigerator-tubes are arranged horizontally andthe ammonia boiler and condenser are arranged vertically. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal central section of anotherforrn or modification of myimproved apparatus.

A is a slow-combustion stove provided with a coil A, having a largeheating-su rface for therapid formation of steam.

B is a steam and water separator, which is connected with the lower endof the said coil by a'pipe B and with the upper end of the said coil bya pipe B 0 is the ammonia-boiler.

B is a pipe extending upward from the separator B and provided with acock B This cock is connected by a pipe B with the upper end of a coil13, for the purpose of' heating the ammonia solution to distill theammonia. The said coil B is inserted in the ammonia-boiler 0 prior tothe Welding of the ends in the tubular or cylindrical portion thereof,the ends of the said coil passing through stuffing-boxes 0* in the endsof the boiler.

B is a pipe connecting the lower end of the coil B 'with the lower endof the separator B. This pipe is provided with a stop-cock 13 B B arepipes provided with suitable cocks and connected, respectively, with thepipes B and B for the purpose of circulating cold water or air throughthe coil 13 to cool the ammonia solution contained in the boiler C afterthe distillation. The air would circulate by gravity, the said air as itbe comes heated in the coil B ascending therein and being replaced bythejcooler air from without.

C is a pipe connected with a coil 0 which is inclosed in a tank 0 forcontaining cold water. This coil is connected at its lower end with aliquid-ammonia receiver 0 D D are the refrigerating tubes or chambers,which are connected with the liquidammonia receiver 0 by means of a pipe0 provided with a cock 0 This pipe is also connected with the top of theammonia-boiler by a pipe 0 provided with a cock C The refrigeratingtubes or chambers D are also connected by means of pipes D D and a cockD with a pipe D extending nearly to the bottom of the ammonia-boiler.

E is a tank for containing a large quantity of brine or othernon-congealable liquid, in

- which are immersed the refrigerating tubes or chambers D.

The apparatus above described operates as follows, viz: The stove A isfilled with fuel,

which is ignited, and the coil A isthus heated,v

so that steam is formed and its-forced into the separator B, in whichany water passing over with the steam falls by gravity. This water againenters the coil A through the pipe 13', while the steam passes up thepipe B The ammonia-boiler 0 being nearly filled with a coil condensesand flows down .by gravity v through the cock B and pipes B B into thecoil A to be again formed into steam, thus insuring a rapid circulationof the water through the coil A and enabling the heater to be placedpractically on the Same level as the ammonia-boiler. The heat appliedto, the ammonia through the coil B causes the distillation ofthe'ammonia, so that it is driven off in the form of gas through thepipe G into the coil 0 where by its own accumulation of pressure, due tothe application of heat, and by the abstraction of its sensible heat bythe cold water in the tank C it is liquefied and flows down into theliquid-ammonia receiver 0 This receiver is made of sufficient capacityto contain the whole of the pure liquid anhydrous ammonia. The object inemploying this receiver is to prevent the carrying of the heat of theliquid ammonia to the refrigerator. The cock 0 being opened, the liquidfrom the receiver 0 is forced up through the pipe, 0 into therefrigerating tubes or chambers D. The cock (3 is closed as soon as thisliquid is all forced up into the said tubes or chambers D, which isknown by the noise made by the gas when commencing to follow the liquid.The cocks B B are then closed and cold water or air is allowed to passthrough the coil 13 by opening the cooks B B By this means the weaksolution in the boiler is cooled and the pressure in the said boiler is,diminished. Upon opening the cock D the amammonia.

monia in the refrigerator-tubes D vaporizes and returns from the saidtubes in the form of gas through the pipes D D and D into theammonia-boiler C, in which it ascends through the weak ammonia solutionand is thereby absorbed. By the expansion of the ammonia in the saidtubes D a large amount of heatis abstracted from the non-congealableliquid in the tank E. The said liquid may thus be cooled to atemperature many degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) As the bottom of thetank E forms the ceiling of the room to be cooled, and the coldestportion of the non-congealable liquid will always descend to the bottomof the said tank, while the hottest air in the room will always rise tothe top of the said room, an exchange of temperature will take place anda circulation of the said liquid in the tank and of the air in the roomwill be maintained, thuskeeping the room ata uniform or nearly uniformtemperature in every part thereof. To increase the amount ofcooling-surface when required, I sometimes employ U-shaped tubes E incombination with the tank E.

By attaching ordinary ice-boxes to the refrigerating apparatus shown inFig. 1 ice may be very conveniently and rapidly made, either by thedirect expansion of the ammonia or by the circulation of the coldnoncongealable liquid.

It will be seen that in my apparatus I provide for introducing into eachof the refrigerator-tubes a large quantity of liquid This liquid ammoniacan be allowed ,to expand in the said tubes, as above described, thusreducing the temperature of the non congealable liquid to a very lowdegree. I can then, if desired, redistill the ammonia into the tubes Dand allow it to remain there in a liquid state until the temperature ofthe room commences to rise. Then the liquid in the boiler having in themeantime been cooled, the cock *D can be opened and the liquid ammoniain the tubes D, or a portion thereof, as may be required, allowed toexpand, thus again reducing the temperature of the non-congealableliquid. It is obvious that by these means I obtain a large reservoir orstore of cold which will maintain a reduced temperature in the said roomfor many days without the necessity of again heating the ammoniasolution in the boiler. Moreover, by the construction of the apparatusin the manner above-described I can cause any impoverished liquid whichcannot be'evaporated by expansion in the tubes D to return to the boilerG by gravity, thus avoiding the accumulation of such impoverished liquidin the said tubes. For this purpose I connect the tubes or chambersD ator near the bottom thereof with the ammonia boiler or still C by meansof a pipe C provided with a cook or valve-C By constructing the ammoniaboiler or still of a hollow cylinder or tube with the, ends weldedtherein after the coil B has been inserted I provide very effectuallyfor diminishing the liability to leakage of the ammonia.

In the apparatus shown in. Fig. 2 the ammonia-boilerO is provided with asteam-y jacket 0 for heating it, or it may be heated by internal pipes,and the said jacket is covered with any suitable non-conductingmaterial, as at O. In combination withtheboiler O, I arrange a rectifierF fon separatin'g from the ammoniacal gas any steam that may be carriedforward therewith. This rectifier is placed in a small tank F, filledwith water to condense the steam. The temperature of this water,however, is higher than that of the Water around the coil for liquefying the ammoniacal gas. The Water returns from the rectifier F to theboiler 0 through the pipe F and the ammoniacal gas passes to thecondenser or liquefying-coil through the pipe 0.

It is evident that the tank E of non-congealable liquid can, if desired,be dispensed with, as in the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, in which casethe refrigerating tubes will abstract the heat directly from the airinthe room. It is much more advantageous, however, to retain the saidtank. If desired, the pipe 0 may conduct the liquid ammonia into therefrigerator-t ubes through the pipe D as shown in Fig. 2. The ammoniacannot then return in a liquid state to the ammonia-boiler. I can,moreover, if desired, dispense with the liquidammonia receiver 0 andconnect the lower end of the coil 0 directly to the pipe 0 or D asshown, for instance, in Fig. 2. The refrigerator tubes or chambers Dare, however, made of sufficient capacity to contain the whole of theliquid anhydrous ammonia; Moreover, I can employ means other than thoseabove described for heating the ammoniaboiler.

The slow combustion stove arranged in combination with the coil forheating the ammonia-boiler is'very advantageous,inasmuch as the fuel canbe allowed to remainignited during the reabsorption of the ammonia, anda very small quantity of fuel is required. A saving is thereforeeffected in respect of both fuel and labor. Moreover, the circulation ofthe water through the heater takes place very rapidly, the watercondensed within the coil in the ammonia-boiler falling by gravity andreturning to the lower part of the coil in the stove. The furtheradvantage is also gained that the apparatus can be used where anordinary steam-boiler is not available.

It is obvious that two or more ammoniaboilers constructed as abovedescribed can be used with a single slow-combustion 'stove andseparator, so that while the heating of the ammonia is being effected inone boiler the cooling of the liquid or the reabsorption of ammonia canbe proceeded within another boiler.

' hat I claim is- 1. The improved refrigerating process, consisting infirst evaporatingv practically the whole of the ammonia from a solutionthereof, dehydrating the said ammonia, and liquefying the same by passinit through a condenser, and collecting the liquid ammonia in suitablerefrigerating tubes or chambers, and, after the flow of the liquidammonia to the said tubes or chambers has ceased, cooling theimpoverished solution and then controlling as required the expansion of.the ammonia in the said tubes or chambers and the return of theammoniacal gas therefrom to the said solution, substantially as andforthe purpose Specified.

2. lhe improved refrigerating process, consisting in first evaporatingpractically the whole of the ammonia from a solution thereof,dehydrating the said amm.onia,and liquefying the same by passing itthrough a condenser, and collecting the liquid ammonia in suitablerefrigerating tubes or chambers immersed in uncongealable liquidinclosed in a tank or vessel, and, after the flow of the liquid ammoniato the said tubes or chambers has ceased, cooling the impoverishedsolution and then controlling as required the expansion of the ammoniain said tubes or chambers and the return of the ammoniacal gas therefromto the said solution, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The improved refrigerating process, consisting in first evaporatingpractically the whole of the ammonia from a solution thereof,dehydrating the said ammonia and liquefying the same by passing itthrough a condenser, collecting the liquefied' ammonia in suitablerefrigerating tubes or chambers immersed in non-congealable liquidinclosed in a tank or vessel, and, after the fiow of liquid ammonia tothe said tubes or chambers has ceased, cooling the impoverished solutionand permitting the expansion of the ammonia in the said chambers and thereturn of the ammoniacal gas thereto from the said tubes or chambers,and thereby greatly reducing the temperature of the non-congealableliquid, then again evaporating practically the whole of the ammonia fromthe said solution, liquefying the said ammonia, and collecting andretaining the same in the said tubes or chambers, and permitting andcontrolling as required the expansion of the ammonia in the saidchambers and the return of the ammoniacal gas therefrom to the saidsolution, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4:. In an apparatus for producing cold by the intermittentammonia-absorption process, the combination, with the ammonia boiler orstill and a condenser or liquefier connected therewith, of arefrigerator consisting of tubes or chambers adapted to contain andstore practically the whole of the liquid anhydrous ammonia from thesaid boiler or still, and provided with pipes, one of which conducts theliquid ammonia to the said tubes or chambers, and the other of whichconnects the space above the level of the liquid in the said tubes orchambers with the said boiler or still, and permits the return ofvaporized ammonia to the boiler or still while preventingthe returnthereto of any liquid ammonia, and cooks or valves for regulating orcontrolling the flow of the liquid ammonia to and of the ammoniacal gasfrom the said tubes or chambers, substantially as hereinbeforedescribed, and for the purposes specified.

5. In an apparatus for producing cold by the intermittent ammonia-absorption process, the combination, with a boiler or still and acondenser or liquefier connected therewith, of a refrigerator consistingof tubes or chambers adapted to contain and store practically the wholeof the liquid anhydrous ammonia from the boiler or still, and providedwith a pipe which connects the space above the level of the liquid inthe refrigerator with the said boiler or still, and which'pe'rmits thereturn of vaporized ammonia to the boiler or still while preventing thereturn thereto of any liquid ammonia, and with another pipe whichconnects the space below the level of the liquid in the refrigeratorwith the said boiler or still, and through which any impoverishedammonia solution which may be left in the refrigerator will return bygravity to the boiler, for the purposes above specified.

(i. In an apparatus for the production of cold by the intermittentammoniafabsorption process, the combination, with the boiler or stilland a condenser or liquefier connected therewith, of a receiver for theliquid ammonia connected with the said liquefier, arefrigeratorconsisting of tubes or chambers which are adapted to contain practicallythewhole of the liquid anhydrous ammonia from the said boiler or stilland which are arranged above the level of the said boiler or still, apipe connecting the. said tubes or chambers with the said receiver, andpipes respectively connecting the spaces above and below the level ofthe liquid in the said tubes or chambers with the said boiler or still,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In an apparatus for the production of cold by the intermittentammonia-absorption process, the combination, with an ammonia boiler orstill, of a coil-boiler for heating the water, situated at a lower levelthan the said ammonia boiler or still and connected at its upper andlower ends with the top and bottom thereof, whereby the water will fallby gravity from the said ammonia boiler or still and will return to thesaid'coil boiler, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

monia boiler or still, and aseparator connected at its upper and lowerends with cor responding ends of the said coil boiler and with the topand bottom of the ammonia boiler or still, whereby any water carriedwith the steam from the said coil-boiler will fall by gravity in thesaid separator and return to 1 the said coil-boiler, and the water ofcondensation will fall by gravity from the ammonia boiler or still andreturn to the said coil boiler, substantially as and for the purposetainand store, practically, the whole of the liquid anhydrous ammonia fromthe boiler or still, a pipe for conducting the liquefied ammonia intothe said tubes or chambers, pipes respectively connecting the spacesabove and below the level of the liquid ammonia in the said tubes orchambers with the said boiler or still, and a tank containinguncongealable liquid, in which the said refrigerating tubes or chambersare immersed near the surface of the liquid and which forms a reservoiror store of cold, the bottom of the said tank forming the top or ceilingof the room or chamber to be cooled, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

10. In an apparatus for. the production of cold by theammonia-absorption process, the combination of an ammonia boiler orstill 0, a condenser or liquefier'C connected with the upper end of thesaid boiler or still,'tubes or chambers D, arranged above the level ofthe said boiler or still and adapted for the reception of practicallythe whole of.the liquid anhydrous ammonia therefrom, a pipe 0 forconducting the liquefied ammonia into the said tubes or chambers, a pipeD D D, connecting the space above the level of the liquid in the saidtubes or chambers with the said boiler or still, and a pipe 0 for there-- turn of any impoverished ammoniacal solu-.

tion by gravity from the said tubes or chambers to the boiler or still,the said pipes being provided with suitable cocks or valves,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

11. In an apparatus for the product-ion of cold by the intermittentammonia-absorption process, the combination of an ammonia boiler orstill 0, a condenser comprising a coil 0 the upper end of which isconnected with the upper end of the said boiler or still, aliquidammonia receiver 0 connected at its .upper end with the lower endof the said coil 0 a refrigerator comprising tubes or chambers D,

arranged above the level of the said boiler or still and adapted tocontain practically the whole of the liquid ammonia therefrom, a pipe 0connecting the lower end of the said receiver with the said tubes orchambers D and provided with a cook or valve 0 pipes D D D connectingthe space above the level of the liquid in the said tubes or chamberswith the lower end of the said boiler or still and provided with a cookor valve D, and a pipe 0 connecting thelower part of the tubes orchainbersD with the boiler or still and provided with a cook or valve 0all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

12. In an. apparatus for. the production of cold by the intermittentammonia-absorption process, the combination of an ammonia boiler orstill 0, a condenser comprising a coil 0 the upper end of which isconnected with the upper end of the said boiler or still, aliquid-ammonia receiver 0 connected at its upper end with the lower endof the said coil 0 a refrigerator com prising tubes or chambers D,adapted to contain practically the whole of the liquid anhydrous ammoniafrom the said boiler or still, and a tank E, containing uncongealableliquid in which the said tubes or chambers are immersed near the surfaceof the liquid, and the bottom of which forms the top or ceiling of theroom or chamber to be cooled, a pipe 0 connecting the lower end of thesaid receiver with the said tubes or chambers D and provided with a cookor valve 0, pipes D D D connecting the space above the level of theliquid in said tubes or chambers with the lower end of the said boileror still and provided with a cook or valve D, and a pipe 0 connectingthe lower part of the tubes or chambers D with the boiler or still andprovided with a cook or valve 0 all substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

13. In an apparatus for the production of cold by the intermittentammonia-absorption process, the combination, with an. ammonia boiler orstill 0, of a coil boiler A for heating the water, situated at a lowerlevel than the said coil-boiler, a separator B, connected at its upperend and lower ends with the corresponding ends of the said coil-boilerpipes B B connecting the upper end of the said separator with the upperend of the heating-space of the said ammonia boiler or still, and a pipeB connecting the lower end of the said heating-space with the lower endof the coilboiler, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK BARKER HILL.

Witnesses:

DAVID YOUNG, A. E. NIXON.

IOO

